System for providing private offers to customers of web sites

Abstract

A method for creating private offers including parsing at least a first computer-based document to identify at least one offer for either of a product and a service, maintaining the offer in a history of offers, detecting the activation of a private offer element within a second computer-based document, the private offer element being associated with either of a product and a service, determining, responsive to the activation, whether any of the offers in the history of offers meets at least one predefined criterion in predefined association with the private offer element, and applying at least one predefined modification to any of the offers in the history of meeting the predefined criterion, thereby resulting in a private offer.

1 . A method for providing a purchase price for an item, the method comprising:
 obtaining a first price for an item that is purchasable from a first vendor;   calculating a second price for said item by applying to said first price a policy associated with a second vendor, wherein said item is purchasable from said second vendor; and   presenting said second price.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1  and further comprising storing said first price in association with said item in a history of offers, wherein said history of offers includes a plurality of associations of prices and items that are derived from a plurality of web sites. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2  wherein said obtaining step comprises obtaining said first price from said history of offers. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1  and further comprising obtaining said policy from said second vendor. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1  and further comprising:
 sending said second price to said second vendor; and 
 receiving approval of said second price from said second vendor. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1  and further comprising calculating a third price and presenting said third price. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said presenting step comprises presenting said second price if said second price is lower than said first price. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein any of said obtaining, calculating, and presenting steps are implemented in any of
 a) computer hardware, and 
 b) computer software embodied in a non-transitory, computer-readable medium. 
 
     
     
         9 . A system for providing a purchase price for an item, the system comprising:
 an price searcher configured to obtain a first price for an item that is purchasable from a first vendor;   an offer calculator that is configured to calculate a second price for said item by applying to said first price a policy associated with a second vendor, wherein said item is purchasable from said second vendor; and   a user interface that is configured to present said second price.   
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 9  and further comprising a history of offers that is configured for storing said first price in association with said item, wherein said history of offers includes a plurality of associations of prices and items that are derived from a plurality of web sites. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 10  wherein said price searcher is further configured to obtain said first price from said history of offers. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein said offer calculator is further configured to obtain said policy from said second vendor. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein said offer calculator is further configured to
 send said second price to said second vendor; and 
 receive approval of said second price from said second vendor. 
 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein said offer calculator is further configured to obtain a third price for said item from said second vendor and wherein said user interface is configured to present said third price. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 9  wherein said user interface is further configured to present said second price if said second price is lower than said first price 
     
     
         16 . A method for providing a purchase price for an item, the method comprising:
 obtaining a plurality of prices for an item that is purchasable from a plurality of vendors;   calculating a competing price for said item by applying to said plurality of prices a policy associated with a second vendor, wherein said item is purchasable from said second vendor; and   presenting said competing price.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16  wherein any of said obtaining, calculating, and presenting steps are implemented in any of
 a) computer hardware, and 
 b) computer software embodied in a non-transitory, computer-readable medium.